JP2006253483A - Substrate treatment device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a substrate treatment device capable of quickly recovering a substrate upon an emergency stop or the like. <P>SOLUTION: A multi-chamber type continuous treatment device is equipped with a negative pressure transfer chamber 10 with a negative pressure transfer device 12 installed therein to transfer a wafer W, a plurality of treatment modules 61, 62, 63, 64 connected to the negative pressure transfer chamber 10 to treat the wafer W, a carry-in chamber 20 for carrying the wafer W in, a carry-out chamber 30 for carrying the wafer W out, and a control system 70 for controlling the elements. The control system 70 is equipped with an indicating system 90 for indicating the wafer before treatment and the wafer after treatment. The indicating system 90 is provided with a selecting means for selecting a second treatment module 62 among a plurality of treatment modules, and an indicating means for indicating a wafer whether the same is before the treatment of the selected second treatment module 62 or the same is after the treatment of the selectee second treatment module 62. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus, and in particular, in a method of manufacturing a semiconductor integrated circuit device (hereinafter referred to as an IC), a metal film or a metal film on a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter referred to as a wafer) in which an integrated circuit including semiconductor elements is formed. The present invention relates to a material effective for forming an insulating film.

For example, in a manufacturing method of a DRAM (Dynamic Random-Access Memory) which is an example of an IC or a DRAM-embedded system LSI (hereinafter referred to as DRAM), a capacitor insulating film applied as an electric capacity insulating film or a gate insulating film on a wafer is used. In some cases, a multi-chamber continuous processing apparatus in which a plurality of processing modules (process chambers) are installed around a transfer chamber is used.
As an example describing a conventional multi-chamber continuous processing apparatus, there is Patent Document 1.
JP 2001-230209 A

  In this type of conventional multi-chamber continuous processing apparatus, for example, when an emergency stop is performed, it is necessary to collect the wafer by a manual operation.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a substrate processing apparatus that can quickly recover a substrate during an emergency stop or the like.

Representative inventions disclosed in the present application are as follows.
(1) a transfer chamber in which a transfer device for holding and transferring a substrate by a holding unit is installed;
A processing module connected to the transfer chamber for processing the substrate;
A spare chamber for carrying the substrate into and out of the transfer chamber;
A control device for controlling the transfer device, the processing module, and the preliminary chamber;
The substrate processing apparatus is characterized in that the control device comprises display means for displaying the substrate before being processed by the processing module or the substrate after being processed in an identifiable manner.
(2) a transfer chamber in which a transfer device for holding and transferring a substrate by a holding unit is installed;
A plurality of processing modules respectively connected to the transfer chamber for processing the substrate;
A spare chamber for carrying the substrate into and out of the transfer chamber;
A control device for controlling the transfer device, the processing module, and the preliminary chamber;
The control device is capable of identifying a selection unit that selects a processing module that performs a predetermined process from the plurality of processing modules, and a substrate before or after being processed by the selected processing module. And a display means for displaying.
(3) The substrate processing apparatus according to (1) or (2), wherein the transfer apparatus includes a plurality of the holding units.
(4) The substrate processing according to (3), wherein at least one of the holding units is exclusively used to hold a substrate after being processed by the selected processing module. apparatus.
(5) The plurality of processing modules are configured to perform different processes, and at least one of the plurality of processing modules is used twice or more (2) ) Substrate processing apparatus.
(6) The substrate processing apparatus according to (1) or (2), wherein an unprocessed substrate and a processed substrate are accommodated in the same spare chamber.

  According to the above (1), for example, in the case of an emergency stop, the processed substrate can be recognized, so that the substrate can be quickly recovered by manual operation.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

In the present embodiment, the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention is configured as a multi-chamber type continuous processing apparatus (hereinafter referred to as a continuous processing apparatus) as shown in FIGS. The continuous processing apparatus is used in a film forming process in which a desired thin film is deposited on a wafer in an IC manufacturing method.
In the continuous processing apparatus according to the present embodiment, a FOUP (front opening unified pod, hereinafter referred to as a pod) is used as a carrier for wafer transfer.
In the following description, front, rear, left and right are based on FIG. That is, the wafer transfer chamber 40 side is the front side, the opposite side, that is, the wafer transfer chamber 10 side is the rear side, the first auxiliary chamber 20 side is the left side, and the second auxiliary chamber 30 side is the right side.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the continuous processing apparatus includes a first wafer transfer chamber 10 as a transfer chamber, and the first wafer transfer chamber 10 has a pressure (negative pressure) less than atmospheric pressure. It has a load lock chamber structure that can withstand A housing (hereinafter referred to as a negative pressure transfer chamber housing) 11 of a first wafer transfer chamber (hereinafter referred to as a negative pressure transfer chamber) 11 has a box shape in which a plan view is hexagonal and both upper and lower ends are closed. Is formed.

At the center of the negative pressure transfer chamber 10, a wafer transfer device 12 is installed as a transfer device that holds and transfers the wafer. The wafer transfer device 12 transfers the wafer W under a negative pressure. It is configured. A wafer transfer device (hereinafter referred to as a negative pressure transfer device) 12 is configured by a SCARA robot, and is installed on the bottom wall of the negative pressure transfer chamber casing 11. The elevator 13 is configured to move up and down while maintaining an airtight seal.
The negative pressure transfer device 12 includes a pair of arms 14 and 15 as a holding unit that holds the wafer W. An upper end effector 16 formed in a bifurcated fork shape is attached to a distal end portion of a first arm (hereinafter referred to as an upper arm) 14 positioned on the upper side, and a second arm (hereinafter referred to as a lower arm) (hereinafter referred to as a lower arm). The lower end effector 17 is attached to the tip of 15.

Of the six side walls of the negative pressure transfer chamber housing 11, two side walls located on the front side are first spare chambers as spare chambers for loading and unloading the wafers W with respect to the negative pressure transfer chamber 10. 20 and the second preliminary chamber 30 are connected adjacently.
Both the casing of the first preliminary chamber 20 (hereinafter referred to as the first preliminary chamber casing) 21 and the casing of the second preliminary chamber 30 (hereinafter referred to as the second preliminary chamber casing) 31 have a plan view. It is formed in a box shape in which both upper and lower ends are closed substantially in the shape of a quadrangle, and has a load lock chamber structure that can withstand negative pressure.

Loading / unloading ports 22 and 23 are respectively formed on the side wall of the first preliminary chamber housing 21 and the side wall of the negative pressure transfer chamber housing 11 which are adjacent to each other, and the loading / unloading port 23 on the negative pressure transfer chamber 10 side. Is provided with a gate valve 24 for opening and closing the loading / unloading ports 22 and 23. The first preliminary chamber 20 is provided with a first preliminary chamber temporary table 25.
Loading / unloading ports 32 and 33 are respectively formed on the side wall of the second auxiliary chamber housing 31 and the side wall of the negative pressure transfer chamber housing 11 which are adjacent to each other, and the loading / unloading port 33 on the negative pressure transfer chamber 10 side. Is provided with a gate valve 34 for opening and closing the loading / unloading ports 32 and 33. The second preliminary chamber 30 is provided with a second preliminary chamber temporary table 35.

On the front side of the first preliminary chamber 20 and the second preliminary chamber 30, a second wafer transfer chamber (hereinafter referred to as a positive pressure transfer chamber) configured to maintain a pressure (positive pressure) that is equal to or higher than atmospheric pressure. ) 40 are connected adjacent to each other, and the casing of the positive pressure transfer chamber 40 (hereinafter referred to as a positive pressure transfer chamber casing) 41 is a box shape in which the upper and lower ends are closed in a horizontally long rectangle in plan view. Is formed.
The positive pressure transfer chamber 40 is provided with a second wafer transfer device (hereinafter referred to as a positive pressure transfer device) 42 for transferring the wafer W under positive pressure. The positive pressure transfer device 42 is a scalar type. The robot is configured so that two wafers can be transferred simultaneously.
The positive pressure transfer device 42 is configured to be moved up and down by an elevator 43 installed in the positive pressure transfer chamber 40 and is configured to be reciprocated in the left-right direction by a linear actuator 44.

Loading / unloading outlets 26 and 27 are respectively formed on the side wall of the first preliminary chamber housing 21 and the side wall of the positive pressure transfer chamber housing 41 adjacent to each other, and the loading / unloading port 27 on the positive pressure transfer chamber 40 side. Is provided with a gate valve 28 for opening and closing the loading / unloading outlets 26 and 27.
Loading / unloading ports 36 and 37 are respectively formed on the side wall of the second preliminary chamber housing 31 and the side wall of the positive pressure transfer chamber housing 41 adjacent to each other, and the loading / unloading port 37 on the positive pressure transfer chamber 40 side. Is provided with a gate valve 38 for opening and closing the loading / unloading ports 36 and 37.
As shown in FIG. 1, a notch aligning device 45 is installed on the left side of the positive pressure transfer chamber 40.
Further, as shown in FIG. 2, a clean unit 46 for supplying clean air is installed in the upper part of the positive pressure transfer chamber 40.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, three wafer loading / unloading ports 47, 48, and 49 are arranged in the left-right direction on the front wall of the positive pressure transfer chamber housing 41. The wafer loading / unloading ports 47, 48 and 49 are set so that the wafer W can be loaded into and unloaded from the positive pressure transfer chamber 40. Pod openers 50 are installed at the wafer loading / unloading ports 47, 48, and 49, respectively.

The pod opener 50 includes a mounting table 51 for mounting the pod P, and a cap attaching / detaching mechanism 52 for mounting and removing the cap of the pod P mounted on the mounting table 51, and the pod P mounted on the mounting table 51. The cap insertion / removal mechanism 52 is used to open / close the pod P wafer opening / closing port.
The pod P is supplied to and discharged from the mounting table 51 of the pod opener 50 by an in-process transfer device (RGV) (not shown). Therefore, the mounting table 51 constitutes a pod stage as a carrier stage.

As shown in FIG. 1, two side walls located on the back side among the six side walls of the negative pressure transfer chamber housing 11 have a first CVD module 61 as a first processing module, A second CVD module 62 as a second processing module is connected adjacently. Each of the first CVD module 61 and the second CVD module 62 is constituted by a single wafer type CVD apparatus (single wafer type cold wall type CVD apparatus).
The remaining two opposite side walls of the six side walls in the negative pressure transfer chamber housing 11 have a first cooling module 63 as a third processing module and a second cooling module as a fourth processing module. Two cooling modules 64 are connected to each other, and both the first cooling module 63 and the second cooling module 64 are configured to cool the processed wafer W.

The continuous processing apparatus includes the control system 70 shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3, the control system 70 includes a main controller 71 constructed from a personal computer or the like. The main controller 71 includes a sub controller 73 that controls the negative pressure transfer device 12, a sub controller 74 that controls the positive pressure transfer device 42, and a first CVD module (first processing module) 61 via the LAN system 72. Sub controller 75 for controlling, sub controller 76 for controlling second CVD module (second processing module) 62, sub controller 77 for controlling first cooling module (third processing module) 63, second cooling module (fourth processing) A sub-controller 78 for controlling the module 64 is connected.
Connected to the main controller 71 are an input device 81 composed of a keyboard, a display device 82 composed of a television monitor, a storage device 83 composed of a floppy disk drive and the like. The main controller 71 is configured to be connected to the host computer 84.
A part of the main controller 71 (software) includes a pre-processed wafer and a post-processed wafer display system (hereinafter referred to as a display system) 90 programmed and incorporated, and the display system 90 is shown in FIG. It is configured to be. That is, the display system 90 includes a sequence storage unit 91, a processing completion report receiving unit 92, a normal / abnormal determination unit 93, a status update unit 94, a status determination unit 95, and a display control unit 96. Is configured to execute a process flow to be described later.

  Hereinafter, a film forming process in an IC manufacturing method using the continuous processing apparatus according to the above configuration will be described.

From now on, twenty-five wafers W to be deposited are transferred by the in-process transfer apparatus to the continuous processing apparatus for performing the film forming process in a state where 25 wafers are accommodated in the pod P.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the pod P that has been transferred is delivered from the in-process transfer device and mounted on the mounting table 51 of the pod opener 50 in the first preliminary chamber 20. . The cap of the pod P is removed by the cap attaching / detaching mechanism 52, and the wafer loading / unloading port of the pod P is opened.

  When the pod P is opened by the pod opener 50, the positive pressure transfer device 42 installed in the positive pressure transfer chamber 40 picks up the wafers W from the pod P one by one through the wafer loading / unloading port 47, and first reserve The chamber 20 is loaded (wafer loading) through the loading / unloading ports 26 and 27, and the wafer W is transferred to the first preliminary chamber temporary table 25. During this transfer operation, the carry-in / out ports 22 and 23 on the negative pressure transfer chamber 10 side are closed by the gate valve 24, and the negative pressure in the negative pressure transfer chamber 10 is maintained.

  When the transfer of the wafer W in the pod P to the temporary storage table 25 for the first preliminary chamber is completed, the loading / unloading outlets 26 and 27 on the positive pressure transfer chamber 40 side are closed by the gate valve 28, and the first preliminary chamber is closed. 20 is exhausted to a negative pressure by an exhaust device (not shown). When the first preliminary chamber 20 is depressurized to a preset pressure value, the loading / unloading ports 22 and 23 on the negative pressure transfer chamber 10 side are opened by the gate valve 24.

Next, the negative pressure transfer device 12 in the negative pressure transfer chamber 10 picks up the wafers W before processing from the temporary storage table 25 for the first preliminary chamber through the loading / unloading ports 22 and 23 one by one, and transfers the negative pressure. Carry it into the chamber 10.
For example, the negative pressure transfer device 12 transfers the wafer W before processing to the wafer carry-in / out port 65 of the first CVD module 61, and from the wafer carry-in / out port 65, the single-wafer CVD device 61 serving as the first CVD module 61. The wafer is loaded into the processing chamber (wafer loading).

  When the predetermined film forming process is completed in the first CVD module 61, the wafer W after the film forming process (film-formed) is picked up from the first CVD module 61 by the negative pressure transfer device 12 and maintained at a negative pressure. The negative pressure transfer chamber 10 is unloaded from the wafer loading / unloading port 65 of the first CVD module 61.

When the wafer W after the film formation process is carried out from the first CVD module 61 to the negative pressure transfer chamber 10, the negative pressure transfer device 12 carries the wafer W after the film formation process into the cooling chamber of the first cooling module 63. While carrying in through the carrying-out port 67, it transfers to the wafer mounting base of a cooling chamber.
The wafer W is cooled in the first cooling module 63.

  When a preset cooling time has elapsed in the first cooling module 63, the wafer W after the cooling process is picked up from the first cooling module 63 by the negative pressure transfer device 12, and the loading / unloading port of the negative pressure transfer chamber 10 is carried out. 23, is carried out to the first preliminary chamber 20 through the loading / unloading port 23, and transferred to the first preliminary chamber temporary table 25.

After the load lock of the first preliminary chamber 20 is released, the wafer loading / unloading port 47 corresponding to the first preliminary chamber 20 of the positive pressure transfer chamber 40 is opened by the pod opener 50 and mounted on the mounting table 51. The cap of the empty pod P is opened by the pod opener 50.
Subsequently, the positive pressure transfer device 42 in the positive pressure transfer chamber 40 picks up the wafer W from the first preliminary chamber temporary placement table 25 through the loading / unloading outlet 27 and carries it out to the positive pressure transfer chamber 40. The wafer is stored (charged) in the pod P through the wafer loading / unloading port 47 of the transfer chamber 40.

When the storage of the 25 processed wafers W in the pod P is completed, the cap of the pod P is attached to the wafer loading / unloading port by the cap attaching / detaching mechanism 52 of the pod opener 50, and the pod P is closed. The closed pod P is transported from the top of the mounting table 51 to the next process by the in-process transport device.
By repeating the above operation, the wafers are sequentially processed one by one.

In the above operation, a display that can identify whether the wafer W held in the negative pressure transfer device 12 is a wafer before or after being processed by the first CVD module 61 is displayed. The control system 70 projects the image on the screen of the display device 82 as shown in FIG.
In FIG. 7, the actual configuration of the continuous processing apparatus is displayed, so that the position of the wafer can be visually observed.

In this display control, in the display system 90, the wafer processing status update flow shown in FIG. 5 and the display flow shown in FIG. 6 are executed for the wafers actually on the continuous processing apparatus.
In the update flow shown in FIG. 5, when the process completion report receiving unit 92 receives a process completion report from the sub-controller 75 of the first CVD module 61 (step A1), the normal / abnormal judgment unit 93 receives the received wafer ID. The (identification number) is inquired of the sequence storage unit 91 and compared with the sequence data relating to the wafer, and it is determined whether or not the received wafer processing has been carried out normally (step A2).
If the wafer processing is normally performed (YES), the process proceeds to step A3, and the wafer processing status is updated to “processed”.
If the wafer processing is not performed normally (NO), the process proceeds to step A4, and the wafer processing status is updated to “error”.

In the display flow shown in FIG. 6, when the processing completion report is received from the sub-controller 75 of the first CVD module 61 (step B1), the processing status determination unit 95 determines that “the processing status of the received wafer has been processed. Is determined (step B2).
When the processing status is processed (YES), the process proceeds to step B3, and as shown in FIG. 7, the display control unit 96 displays the processed color on the wafer on the screen of the display device 82, for example, red. Is displayed.
If the processing status is not processed (NO), the process proceeds to step B4, where it is determined whether the wafer processing status is unprocessed.
If the processing status is unprocessed (YES), the process proceeds to step B5, and the display control unit 96 displays a color indicating unprocessed, for example, blue on the wafer on the screen of the display device 82.
If the processing status is not unprocessed (NO), the process proceeds to step B6 to determine whether the wafer processing status is an error.
If the processing status is an error (YES), the process proceeds to step B7, and the display control unit 96 displays a color representing an error, for example, brown, on the wafer on the screen of the display device 82.
If the processing status is not an error (NO), the process proceeds to step B8, and the display control unit 96 displays colorless on the wafer on the screen of the display device 82.

By the way, there are cases where it is desired to collect the processed wafer W in the pod P by manual operation of the negative pressure transfer device 12 as in the case where the continuous processing apparatus is automatically stopped in case of an earthquake or the like.
In this embodiment, since the color classification (red) for identifying the processed wafer is displayed on the screen of the display device 82 in such a case, the processed wafer is identified and the negative pressure transfer device is identified. The pod P can be recovered by twelve manual operations.
As in the case of the continuous processing apparatus according to the present embodiment, particularly when the processed wafer and the unprocessed wafer are carried into and out of the same first preliminary chamber 20, excellent effects are obtained. be able to.

  In addition, although the above operation | movement demonstrated as an example the case where the 1st preliminary chamber 20, the 1st CVD module 61, and the 1st cooling module 63 were used, the 2nd preliminary chamber 30, the 2nd CVD module 62, and the 1st The same operation is performed when the two cooling module 64 is used.

  FIG. 8 is a plan sectional view showing a multi-chamber continuous processing apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

In the present embodiment, the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention is configured as a continuous processing apparatus that continuously performs an interface oxidation preventive film forming process, a metal oxide film forming process, and a metal oxide film quality improving process.
The continuous processing apparatus according to the present embodiment is different from the continuous processing apparatus according to the first embodiment as follows.
The first preliminary chamber 20 is set so as to be used as a dedicated carry-in spare chamber (hereinafter referred to as a carry-in chamber 20), and the second spare chamber 30 is referred to as a carry-out dedicated spare chamber (hereinafter referred to as a carry-out chamber 30). ) Is set to be used.
The first processing module 61 uses a processing apparatus (hereinafter referred to as an MMT apparatus) using a magnetron type plasma source, and the interface oxidation prevention film forming process as the first process is an MMT. It is configured to be implemented by an apparatus.
A thermal CVD apparatus is used for the second processing module 62, and a metal oxide film forming process as the second process is performed by the thermal CVD apparatus.
The third processing module 63 uses a rapid thermal processor (hereinafter referred to as an RTP apparatus), and is configured such that the metal oxide film quality improvement process as the third process is performed by the RTP apparatus. .
The fourth processing module 64 uses a cooling device, and the processed wafer is cooled by the cooling device.

Hereinafter, an example in which the capacitor insulating film forming step (method) is performed using the continuous processing apparatus shown in FIG. 8 will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 10 shows a flow of the same wafer when the capacitor insulating film forming method shown in FIG. 9 is carried out.
For example, in FIG. 10, S1 corresponds to the transport step S1 to the MMT apparatus in FIG. In FIG. 9, it can be seen that the interface oxidation preventing film forming step S2 is processed by the first CVD module 61 in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 9, the lower electrode is previously formed in the lower electrode forming step on the wafer to be continuously processed. That is, in the lower electrode formation step, an HSG (Hemispherical Grain) film or a doped silicon film containing impurities at a predetermined concentration is formed on a wafer made of silicon, and phosphine (PH ₃ ) annealing is performed as necessary. As a result, the lower electrode is formed on the wafer.
Note that the natural oxide film is removed from the wafer on which the lower electrode is formed in the cleaning process.

From now on, the wafer W to be continuously processed is transported by the inter-process transport apparatus to the continuous processing apparatus for performing the capacitor insulator film forming process while being accommodated in the pod P.
The pod P is delivered from the inter-process transfer device and placed on the placement table 51 of the pod opener 50 in the carry-in chamber 20. The cap of the pod P is removed by the cap attaching / detaching mechanism 52, and the wafer loading / unloading port of the pod P is opened. When the pod P is opened by the pod opener 50, the positive pressure transfer device 42 picks up the wafers W from the pod P one by one through the wafer loading / unloading port 47, and loads them into the loading chamber 20 through the loading ports 26 and 27 (wafers). Loading), and the wafer W is transferred to the temporary storage table 25 for the loading chamber.
During the transfer operation, the carry-in ports 22 and 23 on the negative pressure transfer chamber 10 side are closed by the gate valve 24, and the negative pressure in the negative pressure transfer chamber 10 is maintained. When the transfer of the wafer W to the temporary loading table 25 for the loading chamber is completed, the loading ports 26 and 27 on the positive pressure loading chamber 40 side are closed by the gate valve 28, and the loading chamber 20 is exhausted (not shown). Is exhausted to a negative pressure.
When the loading chamber 20 is depressurized to a preset pressure value, the loading ports 22 and 23 on the negative pressure transfer chamber 10 side are opened by the gate valve 24. The negative pressure transfer device 12 in the negative pressure transfer chamber 10 picks up the wafers W one by one from the carry-in chamber temporary placement table 25 through the carry-in ports 22 and 23 and loads them into the negative pressure transfer chamber 10.

In the transfer step S1 to the MMT apparatus, as shown in FIG. 10, the negative pressure transfer apparatus 12 carries the wafer W picked up from the temporary storage table 25 for the loading chamber into the wafer loading / unloading of the first processing module 61. The wafer is transferred to the outlet 65 and is loaded (wafer loading) from the wafer loading / unloading port 65 into the processing chamber of the MMT apparatus which is the first processing module 61.
When the wafer is loaded into the first processing module 61, the loading chamber 20 and the negative pressure transfer chamber 10 are evacuated to remove internal oxygen and moisture beforehand. Can be prevented from entering the processing chamber of the MMT apparatus, which is the first processing module 61, when the wafer W is loaded.

In the next step S2 for forming the interface antioxidant film, a plasma nitride film as an interface antioxidant film is formed on the surface of the wafer W by the MMT apparatus. The processing conditions of the MMT apparatus when forming this plasma nitride film are as follows.
The high-frequency power is 100 to 500 W, the processing pressure is 2 to 100 Pa, the nitrogen gas flow rate is 100 to 1000 sccm, the processing temperature is 25 to 600 ° C., the processing time is 1 second or more, and the film thickness is 1 to 3 nm.

  In the transfer step S3 to the thermal CVD apparatus, the negative pressure transfer apparatus 12 picks up the wafer W on which the plasma nitride film is formed from the susceptor of the MMT apparatus, and changes from the first processing module 61 to the second processing module 62. The sample is transferred to the thermal CVD apparatus via the negative pressure transfer chamber 10 and loaded into the processing chamber (wafer loading).

In the metal oxide film forming step S4, a tantalum oxide film as a metal oxide film is formed on the wafer W on which a plasma nitride film as an interface oxidation preventing film is formed by a thermal CVD apparatus.
The processing conditions of the thermal CVD apparatus for forming this tantalum oxide film are as follows.
The film forming temperature is 350 to 500 ° C., the flow rate of PETa is 0.05 to 0.5 sccm, the processing pressure is 10 to 100 Pa, the film forming time is arbitrary, and the film thickness is 1 nm or more (usually 8 to 10 nm). is there.

  In the transfer step S5 to the RTP apparatus, the negative pressure transfer apparatus 12 picks up the wafer W on which the tantalum oxide film as the metal oxide film is formed from the wafer support base of the thermal CVD apparatus, and the second processing module 62. Are transferred to the RTP apparatus as the third processing module 63 via the negative pressure transfer chamber 10, and are transferred into the processing chamber.

In the film quality improvement step S6 of the metal oxide film, an improvement process of the tantalum oxide film as the metal oxide film formed on the wafer W is performed by the RTP apparatus. The metal oxide film quality improving process is performed by a heat treatment of an RTP apparatus. By this heat treatment, an insulator film having a composition stoichiometrically close to tantalum pentoxide (Ta ₂ O ₅ ) is formed.

  In the transfer step S7 to the cooling device, the negative pressure transfer device 12 transfers the wafer W that has been subjected to the metal oxide film quality improvement processing from the third processing module 63 to the cooling device that is the fourth processing module 64. It is conveyed through the transfer chamber 10 and carried into the cooling chamber.

  In the cooling step S8, the wafer W is cooled by the cooling device. By this cooling process, the wafer W reaches a temperature at which it can be collected in the pod P.

  In the wafer unloading step S9, the cooled wafer W is transferred from the fourth processing module 64 to the unloading chamber 30 via the negative pressure transfer chamber 10, and unloaded through the unloading port 33 to the unloading chamber temporary table 35. Reprinted.

Thereafter, the load lock of the unloading chamber 30 is released, and the wafer loading / unloading port 48 corresponding to the unloading chamber 30 of the positive pressure transfer chamber 40 is opened by the pod opener 50 and the empty space mounted on the mounting table 51 is opened. The cap of the pod P is opened by the pod opener 50. Subsequently, the positive pressure transfer device 42 in the positive pressure transfer chamber 40 picks up the wafer W from the carry-out chamber temporary placement table 35 through the carry-out port 37 and carries it out to the positive pressure transfer chamber 40. The pod P is stored (charged) through the 40 wafer loading / unloading ports 48.
When the storage of the processed wafer W in the pod P is completed, the cap of the pod P is attached to the wafer loading / unloading port by the cap attaching / detaching mechanism 52 of the pod opener 50, and the pod P is closed. The closed pod P is transported by the inter-process transport device from the top of the mounting table 51 to the next process.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the next process is often a metal oxide film crystallization annealing process. Then, after the metal oxide film is crystallized, in the upper electrode forming step, an upper electrode such as titanium nitride is formed, and a capacitor member having a MIS structure is obtained.

By the way, in the thermal CVD apparatus used as the second processing module 62, since a metal oxide film is deposited, reaction products and unreacted products may adhere to the back surface of the processed wafer as foreign matters. is there. When the negative pressure transfer device 12 supports and transports this processed wafer from below with an end effector, the foreign matter attached to the back surface is transferred to the end effector of the negative pressure transfer device 12, and the transferred foreign matter is transferred to the pre-process. By transferring to the back surface of the wafer, the yield of the continuous processing apparatus is reduced.
In order to prevent the foreign matter on the back surface of the processed wafer processed by the second processing module 62 from being transferred to the back surface of the unprocessed wafer, the processed wafer processed by the second processing module 62 is transferred. It is desirable to set the end effector to be performed separately from the end effector for transporting the unprocessed wafer.
In addition, the processed wafer W processed by the second processing module 62 is to be collected in the pod P by manual operation of the negative pressure transfer device 12 as in the case where the continuous processing apparatus automatically stops in an emergency in the event of an earthquake or the like. In some cases, when a color classification identifying the processed wafer processed by the second processing module 62 is displayed on the screen of the display device 82, the processed wafer processed by the second processing module 62 is identified. Thus, it is possible to recover the pod P by manual operation using the dedicated end effector of the negative pressure transfer device 12.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, in the above-described operation, the wafer W held in the negative pressure transfer device 12 is processed by the second processing module 62 as a processing module for performing a metal oxide film forming process which is a predetermined process. As shown in FIG. 11, the control system 70 displays a display capable of identifying whether the wafer is a wafer before being processed or a wafer after being processed, as shown in FIG.
By the way, in the present embodiment, the wafer is transferred to the second processing module 62 after being subjected to the interface oxide film preventing film forming step S2 in the first processing module 61. In this case, the wafer in the first processing module 61 and the wafer in the second processing module 62 may be displayed on the same screen as shown in FIG.
Wafer display control in the first processing module 61 is performed in the same manner as in the first embodiment. That is, when the wafer display is controlled by the first processing module 61, the wafer processing status update flow shown in FIG. 5 and the display flow shown in FIG. The wafer in the first processing module 61 is displayed on the screen as shown in FIG.

In controlling the wafer screen display in the second processing module 62 shown in FIG. 11, the display system 90 (see FIG. 4) uses the wafer sub-status update flow shown in FIG. The displayed display flow is executed.
In the update flow shown in FIG. 12, when the processing completion report receiving unit 92 receives a processing completion report from the sub-controller 76 (see FIG. 3) of the second processing module 62 (step C1), the normal / abnormal judgment unit 93. Makes an inquiry to the sequence storage unit 91 for the ID (identification number) assigned to the received wafer and compares it with the sequence data relating to the wafer to determine whether the processing of the received wafer has been carried out normally (step) C2).
If the wafer processing is normally executed (YES), the process proceeds to step C3, and the wafer sub-status is updated to “processed”.
If the wafer processing has not been performed normally (NO), the process proceeds to step C4, and the wafer sub-status is updated to “error”.

In the display flow shown in FIG. 13, when the processing completion report receiving unit 92 receives the processing completion report from the sub-controller 76 of the second processing module 62 (step D1), the processing status determination unit 95 reads “Received wafer. It is determined whether the processing status of has been processed (step D2).
When the processing status is processed (YES), the process proceeds to step D3, and as shown in FIG. 11, the display control unit 96 displays the processed color on the wafer on the screen of the display device 82, for example, red. Is displayed.
If the processing status is not processed (NO), the process proceeds to step D4 to determine whether the wafer processing status is unprocessed.
If the processing status is unprocessed (YES), the process proceeds to step D5, and the display control unit 96 displays a color indicating unprocessed, for example, blue on the wafer on the screen of the display device 82.
If the processing status is not unprocessed (NO), the process proceeds to step D6 to determine whether the wafer processing status is an error.
If the processing status is an error (YES), the process proceeds to step D7, and the display control unit 96 displays a color representing an error, for example, brown, on the wafer on the screen of the display device 82.
If the processing status is not an error (NO), the process proceeds to step D8, and the display control unit 96 displays colorless on the wafer on the screen of the display device 82.
In contrast, when a processed color (for example, red) is displayed on the wafer on the screen in step D3, the processing status determination unit 95 determines whether the sub-status of the received wafer has been updated (step D9). . This sub status can be set individually for each processing module.
If the sub status has been updated (YES), the process proceeds to step D10, and as shown in FIG. 11, the display control unit 96 applies the “processing by the second processing module 62 to the wafer on the screen of the display device 82”. A color indicating that the wafer is “wafer”, for example, an orange frame is displayed.
If there is no sub status (NO), the process proceeds to the end of the display flow.

When it is determined that the wafer has been processed by the second processing module 62 as described above, the control system 70 controls the sub-controller 73 (see FIG. 3) of the negative pressure transfer device 12 to A dedicated end effector for transferring the processed wafer W processed by the processing module 62, for example, the lower end effector 17 is instructed to transfer the processed wafer W.
In this way, when the wafer W processed by the second processing module 62 is transported using a dedicated end effector, foreign matter adheres to the back surface of the wafer W by the film forming process of the second processing module 62. Even so, it is possible to prevent foreign matter from being transferred to the wafer W before being processed by the second processing module 62.

In addition, the processed wafer W processed by the second processing module 62 is to be collected in the pod P by manual operation of the negative pressure transfer device 12 as in the case where the continuous processing apparatus automatically stops in an emergency in the event of an earthquake or the like. In some cases, since the color classification (orange frame) for identifying the processed wafer processed by the second processing module 62 is displayed on the screen of the display device 82, the operator performs processing by the second processing module 62. By recognizing the processed wafer that has been processed, it can be recovered into the pod P by manual operation using a dedicated end effector of the negative pressure transfer device 12.
Note that the color of the processed wafer W can be varied in accordance with the processing of each module. By doing so, when there are a plurality of wafers W processed in the second processing module 62, it becomes an index of which wafer W should be given priority.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing another embodiment of the capacitor insulator film forming step, and FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram showing the flow of the wafer.
This embodiment is different from the above-described embodiment in that both the film formation step S2 of the interface antioxidant film and the film quality improvement step S6 of the metal oxide film are performed by the MMT apparatus which is the first processing module 61. Is a point.
According to the present embodiment, the interface oxidation preventing film forming step S2 and the metal oxide film quality improving step S6 are performed by the MMT apparatus which is the first processing module 61, so the number of processing modules is reduced. can do.

  Needless to say, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

For example, the processing module for forming the interfacial antioxidant film does not depend on the type (system) of lamp, hot wall, susceptor heating, plasma, or the like.
The processing module for forming the metal oxide film does not depend on the type such as hot wall or cold wall.
The processing module that performs the metal oxide film quality improving process does not depend on the type of lamp, hot wall, susceptor heating, plasma, ultraviolet light, or the like.

  The lower electrode on the surface of the wafer put into the continuous processing apparatus is not limited to being formed by an HSG film or a doped silicon film, but may be polysilicon, HSG doped with impurities, polysilicon doped with impurities, ruthenium (Ru). ), Platinum (Pt), or titanium nitride.

The capacitor member is not limited to the MIS structure, and may have a SIS structure or an MIM structure. In the case of a capacitor member having an MIM structure, for example, a metal such as ruthenium (Ru) or platinum (Pt) is formed as a lower electrode by a CVD method or a PVD method, and a dielectric is formed thereon by an insulating film forming step. A layer may be formed.
Furthermore, as the upper electrode in that case, a metal such as ruthenium, platinum, or titanium nitride can be formed by a CVD method or a PVD method.

1 is a plan sectional view showing a multi-chamber continuous processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the control system. It is a block diagram which shows a display system. It is a process flowchart which shows a process status update flow. It is a process flowchart which shows a display flow. It is a screen figure which shows a display screen. It is a plane sectional view showing a multi-chamber type continuous processing apparatus which is a second embodiment of the present invention. It is a flowchart which shows the insulator film formation process of the capacitor in the manufacturing method of DRAM. It is a schematic diagram which shows the flow of a wafer. It is a screen figure which shows a display screen. It is a process flowchart which shows a sub status update flow. It is a process flowchart which shows a display flow. It is a flowchart which shows other embodiment of the insulator film formation process of a capacitor. It is a schematic diagram which shows the flow of the wafer.

Explanation of symbols

  W ... wafer (substrate), P ... pod (substrate carrier), 10 ... negative pressure transfer chamber (transfer chamber), 11 ... negative pressure transfer chamber casing, 12 ... negative pressure transfer device (transfer device), 13 ... Elevator, 14 ... Upper arm (holding portion), 15 ... Lower arm (holding portion), 16, 17 ... End effector, 20 ... First spare chamber, 21 ... First spare chamber casing, 22,23 ... Loading Unloading port, 24 ... Gate valve, 25 ... Temporary table for first spare chamber, 26, 27 ... Loading / unloading port, 28 ... Gate valve, 30 ... Second spare chamber, 31 ... Second spare chamber housing, 32, 33 ... Loading / unloading port, 34 ... Gate valve, 35 ... Temporary table for second preliminary chamber, 36, 37 ... Loading / unloading port, 38 ... Gate valve, 40 ... Positive pressure transfer chamber (wafer transfer chamber), 41 ... positive pressure transfer chamber housing, 42 ... positive pressure transfer device (wafer transfer device), 43 ... elevator, 44 ... Actuator, 45 ... Notch aligner, 46 ... Clean unit, 47, 48, 49 ... Wafer loading / unloading port, 50 ... Pod opener, 51 ... Mounting table, 52 ... Cap attaching / detaching mechanism, 61 ... First CVD module (first Processing module), 62 ... second CVD module (second processing module), 63 ... first cooling module (third processing module), 64 ... second cooling module (fourth processing module), 65, 66, 67, 68 ... Wafer loading / unloading port, 70 ... Control system (control device), 71 ... Main controller, 72 ... LAN system, 73-78 ... Sub-controller, 81 ... Input device, 82 ... Display device, 83 ... Storage device, 84 ... Host Computer, 90... Pre-processing wafer and post-processing wafer display system, 91. Parts, 92 ... processing completion report receiving unit, 93 ... normal abnormality determination unit, 94 ... processing status updating unit, 95 ... processing status determination unit, 96 ... display control unit.

Claims (1)

A transfer chamber in which a transfer device for holding and transferring a substrate by a holding unit is installed;
A processing module connected to the transfer chamber for processing the substrate;
A spare chamber for carrying the substrate into and out of the transfer chamber;
A control device for controlling the transfer device, the processing module, and the preliminary chamber;
The said control apparatus is provided with the display means which displays the board | substrate before processing by the said processing module, or a substrate after processing so that identification is possible.

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